Barn cleaner



E. E. HINZ BARN CLEANER May 23, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 11,1948 E. E. HlNZ 2,509,097

May 23, 1950 BARN CLEANER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11, 1948 E/mw E.Hmz

JNVENTOR.

E. E. HINZ BARN CLEANER May 23, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 11,1948 Elmer Hmz INVENTOR.

a. gutter H! of a barn I6. I U

are placedone on e'a'cir side of tire gutter" and Patented May 23, 1950EB stares PATENT eerie-ii BERN CLEiYNER Elmer EaHinz, Zumbrota, Minn;irppueantn 'Jhmrll, 194s;- seriarm: 32385" 'tiie cleaningchain's-as theytrayel up arr incline 'ti-iereby displacing the removed waste and? re ndering trie cleaning operation ineffectual" and unsanitary;

a further" object of the invention is to mount'thecleaner'operatih'gassembliesfor reaely connection with the chain cleaningmeanszwhen thedesiredprocessis to' becarriedout? other ce ectsof" the inventionresi'rie in the details of construction and in the combination "oftl're-various'parts and in their mode ofoperation; as will hereinafterappear.

The following a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention and is iiiustrateciinthe-accompanyin drawings? where- Figure 1i's-a side elevation of tiie invention in position with barn chaincleaners; Figure'2isa=top plan-view of the deviee shown in Ffigure- 1-;

Figure 3" is a rear eIevation-oftiie invention; rieiire 4 is a side"eievatiorr or the invention, and is taken on" the opposite sideillustrated in Figure 1;, I

Figure 5 a diagrammatit view of the invention;

Figure 6? is a transversevertical section and is tafienisubstantially'on the" line fi-B of Ffgure 1;

Figure a: vertical. transverse section and is taken. substantially -online. T- PGFEiQureI-"rand,

Figure 8' is an enlarged detail." of the clutch means for actuating the"device.

Referring to the figures; the barn cleaner is illustrated generally bynumeral l0 and is shown connected toiaaconveyon chain: 42 lying withinConveyor chains I2 are joined transversely by angulate'd" cleaning barsl8. Barsle scoopsuntheadeposited manure or other body waste andsretainsuch wasteuntil they reach a point of disposal,-. as will presentlyappeari- Chains l2 are secured; on the: interior "end thereof. to asuitable-winding cablezw; cable zil-itraveling aroundidler. rollerssnand?! rollers H -and wbeing secured by 'suitiible meters-22s the reamwall 28. of. barn: iii. Theirbnt wall 30 of barn I6 is suitably bored at32 to receive:

cable 20 therethrough, while the=bottom oi.- wall 30 isopen and at;sucii Height-=to readi1y permit conveyor chains to emerge there through:As maybe readily seen in Figures 1- and7; as chains |-'2 emergethroughbarn Hi; they are" engaged by idlerstarwheel 3'6; wheel int eludingfingers 3'8 ad'apted toenga'ge chain fi thy means: of forked extremitiesM1 Star wheel 38' is" mountedon transverse shaft' 12-: and" secured thepoint of entrance oi'ba-rm It, in any suit able manner. Thus, as chai'nsl2 emerge from the barn; three elements 4t engagethe linlts oi chain l2,and thereby retain themadiaeenttlre gutter ll prior totravelin-g'upconveyor w and the cleaning assembly I05 The structure d scribed aboveis conventional and it isblieved that further description thereof willnotbe necessary.

Gonveyor'trough 44 is inclined upwardly-and rearwardly, the"frontendthereof terminating,

within the inclined end 46 0f channel- [4 and thefl'oor 4'8 o'f-barn-Hi. Conveyor trough M is retained in' any suitable manner between'sumport standards 50*, standards 50" being mounted on support blocks 52 tobe retained in suitable recesses adjacent barn It; Any suitablemeansfor" moving' barn cleaner l0 may be provided, since such means forms nopartof the-instant invention; Of course;,when desired; thedvi'te may-bepermanently" secured in position:

Sirpportplatform 5 l""is'ti'd'aptied"tcrretainthere on drive motor 5t;while" a second platform '58 seciiresthereon cable winding drumBW-to'whit'h cable 2b: is secured for movement there'orras will soon be"explainedi Horizontal braces 62 are securedto standard" 50 and to troughwas may be seen in: Figure I- and mount" thereon as by suitable.trunnions 6'4 2; chain drum 66? Chains F2 are adapted to traveil oninclined trough; 44; upon: suitable action of motor 56" in famannersoon' to appear; so that the removed barn wastesare carriedupwardly-on angleliars 13 until they reach the opposite endoft'rougfh41,, below which a suitable receiving truck or container is positioned;Thewaste dronsoverthe rfree endiofr troughM' and'conveyo'r chains" IZ"are carried. over chain drive" sprockets 6'8 secured to trough 4 to befinally wound up. onid'runi 8i. Chains I I'Z'thus :passbeneath guidebar. 10' secured asby, rodsJZ below conveyon 44". Idler sprocket wheels.T4 and. T6 are: secured to each end' of guide bar. 1! and' are the.means overr whibh sprocket chains l2 travel; Thus, tension. of chains l2are maintained" at al11time's,,asis desired;

Drive .means @6- is connected to v pulley wheele'lfl by: means on apulley;- belt trainedzthereover. Driyeishatt fiz extendsetransverselyacross-standard159-and=projectsfrom.each side thereof; Drive sptoeket84s isseouitedatoi one/ endzoii chatt -8 2 and is connected a& by; drivesprocket chaim 8E2 tore;

large drive sprocket wheel 88. Wheel 88 is mounted for rotation on shaft90 and shaft 90 is secured on each end thereof to a large, drivensprocket wheel 92 and a-smaller driven sprocket wheel 94. Wheel 92 isconnected to sprocket 96 mounted on cable drum 60 for actuation thereof,while sprocket wheel 94 is secured to a friction clutch sprocket wheel98 for actuation of drum 66. Suitable sprocket chains I and I02,respectively, provide the drive means.

Dog clutch I04 is mounted on driven shaft I06, shaft I06 being securedto conveyor trough 44. Clutch lever I08 is mounted on bracket H0 securedto conveyor trough 44 for pivotal movement as at H2 whereby clutch I04is slid into engagement by suitable key connections II4 with frictionsprocket wheels 98. When this is done, shaft I00 rotates a drivensprocket wheel IIS mounted at the opposite extremity thereof, sprocketwheel II6 actuating a second sprocket wheel II 8. Sprocket wheel H8 ismounted for rotation on shaft I20 and is operated by sprocket chain I22trained thereover. This, in turn, rotates pulleys I24 mounted on shaftI26 carrying drum 86 as by crossed pulley belt I28.

Cable drum sprocket wheel 96, mounted on the opposite end of shaft 82,is connected by a second dog ear clutch I30 actuated by clutch handleI32 pivoted at pivot I34 of bracket I36 to rotate sprocket wheel 96connected by shaft I38 to cable winding drum 60.

In the operation of the device, while clutch I04 is engaged, clutch I30will be disengaged, and vice versa. Also, it is obvious that when chainI2 is winding up on drum 66, such movements will unwind cables 20 fromdrum 60, and, in reverse, when drum B0 is winding cable 20, such actionwill unwind conveyor chains I2. In use, barn cleaning apparatus I0 isconnected to cable 20 and chains I2. Motor 55 is started to drive pulley18 which, in turn, drives sprocket wheel 84 secured on shaft 82.Sprocket wheel 84 drives sprocket wheel 88, which in turn rotates cabledrum sprocket 92 and chain drum sprocket 94 in idling position. Chainclutch handle I08 is pivoted to engage clutch I04 with friction sprocketwheel 98. This, in turn, actuates wheel IIS which transmits power tosprocket wheel I20 which, in turn, rotates drum 66. This wheel I20which, in turn, rotates drum 66. This operation winds chain I2 on thedrum, thereby unwinding rotating cable 20. As the cleaning bars I8 leavebarn I6, they are prevented from rising and thereby dropping the removedmanure or the like, by engagement with star wheel 36. They then travelupwardly over inclined conveyor trough 44 until they have reachedthe'open rear extremity thereof. The wastes are then deposited on asuitable receiving container stationed below, and chains I2 continuetheir travel to be wound on drum 6B. In this travel, they are guided byguide bars I0 and over idler sprocket wheels I4 and 16, whereby suitabletension is always maintained on cleaning chains I 2. Idlers chains I2which are returned to their original positions within the barn. ChainsI2 and cable 20 are then disengaged, and the device moved to anotherbarn, if mounted on portable means, or

4 is then retained in position until necessary to be used again.

Any suitable material that is desired may be used in the construction ofthe invention, and while one complete embodiment has been described indetail, it is to be understood that various features of the inventionmay be independently used and also that numerous modifications might bemade by those skilled in the art. without departure from the spirit andscope of the invention, as indicated above, and in the following claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a barn cleaner, a supporting frame, an inclined trough carried bysaid frame, a cable winding drum disposed above said trough and a chainwinding drum disposed below said trough so that the vertical medialplanes of said drums and trough coincide, a drive shaft journaled onsaid frame, power means for rotating said shaft, means including aclutch drivingly connecting the drive shaft to the cable winding drum,and means including a second clutch drivingly connecting the drive shaftto the chain winding drum, a pair of chain sprockets rotatably mountedbelow the trough at the upper end thereof and a pair of star wheelsrotatably mounted above the trough at the lower end thereof, saidclutches being operable to selectively rotate either of said drums,guide means disposed below said trough and between said sprockets andchain winding drum for guiding cleaner chains including laterally spacedand inclined bars depending from said trough for supporting cleanerchains.

2. The combination of claim 1 including idler rollers secured to saidbars for tensioning cleaner chains.

3. In a barn cleaner, a frame including a pair of vertical supportstandards, an inclined trough disposed between said standards and beingsecured intermediate its ends to the standards for support, a cablewinding drum disposed above said trough and a chain winding drumdisposed below said trough so that the vertical medial planes of saiddrums and trough coincide, said chain winding drum being disposedbetween said standards and the lower end of said trough, a drive shaftjournaled on said frame, power means for rotating said shaft, meansincluding a clutch drivingly connecting the drive shaft to the cablewinding drum and means including a second clutch drivingly connectingthe drive shaft to the chain winding drum, a pair of chain sprocketsrotatably mounted below the trough at the upper end thereof and a pairof star wheels rotatably mounted above the trough at the lower endthereof, and a pair of laterally spaced, inclined guide bars dependingfrom the trough between the standards and the upper end of the troughfor supporting cleaner chains.

ELMER E. HINZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Custer Aug. 29, 1939

